


Captive Wolf

by AkaUsa



Category: Mononoke-hime | Princess Mononoke
Genre: Abuse, Animal Traits, Captivity, Collars, F/F, Love/Hate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 21:33:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12442254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkaUsa/pseuds/AkaUsa
Summary: A dog is nothing more than a wolf god brought low by humans.





	Captive Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to do a more elaborate and explicit –relationship-wise– take on the subject of San being imprisoned in Eboshi's town but I need to finish some things before that and rewatch the movie too.

After she tries to bite the wood bars of the first cell she was thrown in, they drop her in one made of iron. The very one they build in the forges, probably. San hates the smell of metal, it reeks of blood and sweat, so unlike the soft flagrance of wet bark and the intense moistness of the soil after rain. It is earth beaten to death with fire, flames worse than the blazes that sometimes happen in forests hit by a summer heatwave. Unsurprisingly, its taste is horrid as well.

Eboshi's eyes have the harshness and tint of metal, a perfect color for such a loathsome woman, such a loathsome human.

"Should we put a collar on you, to train you into a good dog at least, considering a proper human being currently seems impossible?"

She snarls and Eboshi laughs, a rough sound that pierces her body and sends rage to her bones as surely as the burning ore of death they shoot from their weapons.

San tries to escape once again after an oblivious man opens her cage a bit too wide to serve her food. Her attempt stops at Eboshi's feet, the soldiers' bamboo spears digging harshly in her ribs. Looking up, she can see that same menacing glare in the shadows of her red hat.

When Eboshi puts the collar on her, she almost can't believe it is happening. The threat didn't seem that serious but then again, San thought Eboshi would have rather killed her than kept her captive. Perhaps it is another cruelty of the humans, to not give death to their preys. She bites, scratches and throws hits, fighting until the leather finally circles her neck despite everything. Eboshi huffs, sounding satisfied of her victory.

"Well, I don't dislike a bit of challenge" and there's that glint in her eyes again, hinting at the madness of those mortals who think they can defy gods and the great spirits of the earth.

"I won't become a dog, I won't become a dog", San prays desperatly. For a dog is nothing more than a wolf god brought low by humans.

She is moved to Eboshi's quarters and the ones bringing her meals aren't soldiers anymore but strange bandaged men and women. There's a garden near her cell, San spends her days the nose stuck between the bars, trying to inhale the plants' scent, remembering the forest's energy.

Eboshi bathes her herself, nobody else would be foolish or reckless enough to think they could get away with it unhurt. She hates the burning hot water, hates the weird, unnatural perfumes that are put on her and the clean human clothes she's made to wear. But more than anything else, she hates Eboshi's hands, those slender and firm fingers that move freely against her skin, reaching any place they may desire and leaving no part of her untouched. She is dressed and undressed many times, left completly naked but for that damn piece of leather that always stays on.

Maybe it is better than being yanked by the hair but she loathes the collar all the same. Eboshi has San alternatively sitting down on her knees for hours and standing tall, the back all straight, putting one foot in front of the other slowly like some kind of turtle. When she doesn't react fast enough to her whims, Eboshi pulls her by the collar to make her stand-up, sit down or stop slouching. It's all about teaching her proper manners, according to her. Manners fitting of a dog or a human, San can't really know.  
  
She scratches against the leather, trying to wear it out or at least get rid of the itch that doesn't leave her neck. Soon, there's red and brownish marks all around it. Eboshi softly strokes them, making her flinch, and sighs.  
  
"Truly like a trapped animal. But you're not going to get out of that with your freedom back and a lost limb, you know?"  
  
Out of revenge, she tries to bite _her_ neck. Eboshi lets out a gasp but quickly brings her down to the ground, one hand at her nape, around the collar, pushing her against the tatami mat while the other hand pulls her arm up against her back. San seethes, teeth grinding, she can barely move a muscle without feeling a jolt of pain. The faded yellow rush is rough against her cheek, it has the smell she now associates with human houses, that heavy feeling from the lack of air flowing around tree branches. Stuck to passive observation only, her eyes scan the room, finding no issues. It is far from the first time she's trapped by those arms, yet she can never escape them.  
  
Eboshi's clothes are messed-up from the commotion and she can see the shape of her collarbone, the shadow of her breasts, she can feel the fragrance of her too-close body. It sends a strange thrill under her bones, though it may just be the pain spreading from her arm. Looking at the small red marks on the pale skin, San cries out of frustration that her fangs aren't long enough to tear her head off.

One day, Eboshi talks about the death of the Great Forest Spirit.

"Would you become human again then, if he disappeared? I wonder."

As the words ring through her ears, a shiver rise from San's spine. She wishes rage would overflow her and give her enough strength to jump at her throat but far from boiling, the blood in her veins seems to freeze. Eboshi is implying that she will kill the Forest Spirit. Taken from any other human's mouth, San would believe this to be impossible but coming from Eboshi, she isn't so sure and that thought terrifies her.

"Killing the Forest Spirit would be killing the forest itself, you monster! Do you really wishes to commit such a crime?"

It's the first time she talks like this to Eboshi. Usually she never lets out more than a few words of hatred or some kind of growls, because any sign of contact with her captor is something she'd prefer to avoid. Even in the rare moments where the brush of those hated fingers against her neck almost feel tender. Yet now, she has to do something, anything, to prevent the risk of such folly being achieved.

Of course, Eboshi disregards her threat and San is reduced to asking her a second time, her tone shifting, softening to one that is pleading, almost begging. It is an humiliation in itself, that this woman managed to make her learn the language of submission.

"Would it displease you that much, to be human? What a shame."

She still doesn't understand. Her hand skims against San's cheek to pet her hair, with something like pity in the gesture. San resists her first instinct to push it away, to not waste her chances of reaching through her. Maybe it is a mistake and another failure on her part.

"If you would though, I'd give you back your freedom."

The weight of the leather is something she's used to by now but it suddendly chafe her skin like it did on the first day it was put. For a second, the idea of asking if she would give up this mad project in exchange of San's surrendering crosses her mind, disgusting as it may seems. But she knows the answer already, Eboshi's ambitions are far too big to be tamed.


End file.
